ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After much anticipation about the future of the Tampa Bay Rays future home, the wait is over.
"Major league baseball is here to stay, right here," said Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg. “Well, technically, in the parking lot, just beyond the scoreboard and Booker Creek.”
Fanfare and celebration filled Tropicana Field Tuesday at word of the news.
However, not far away at City Hall, a different emotion coursed through Faith in Florida and concerned citizens.
"Today is a dark day in St. Petersburg," said Bishop of the Florida Full Gospel Baptist Church, Bishop Manuel Sykes. "If you go back 40 years, a similar thing was done, where residents were promised housing, businesses, and many other opportunities. Instead, what they got was a lie."
There's a storied history between the Gas Plant District and St. Pete's black community. Many black and brown families tell ABC Action News they had to leave the area to make room for Tropicana Field decades ago.
The ask from the group Tuesday is as follows.
"Public ownership of the land is what we wanted from the beginning. And to echo that today, the only way we can weigh in on what happens there. The only way we can advocate for housing, bold housing solutions there is if it's city-owned. If it's privately owned, we're about as effective as just someone yelling outside of a locked castle," said Dylan Dames, an organizer with Faith in Florida.
The new stadium will be constructed on an 86-acre area known as the Historic Gas Plant District. In January, Hines was selected as the developer for the Gas Plant District.
According to the city of St. Petersburg, the new project will include:
- 4,800 residential units
- 1,200 affordable/workforce residential units (on and off-site)
- 600 senior living units
- 1.4 million square feet of office, medical, and commercial space
- 750,000 square feet of retail
- 750 hotel rooms
- 100,000 square feet of entertainment space, including a concert venue to seat up to 4,000
- 50,000 square feet of civic space, including a new home for the Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum
- 90-100,000 square feet of conference, ballroom, and meeting space
- 14 acres of public open space
- 14,000 parking spaces
"If you redevelop a stadium, and you put a museum there, and you put a park there, and you make it pretty, of course, the city stands to benefit. Our concern is who in the city stands to benefit from that?" Dames said.
But there are people in St. Pete who applaud this new development. To Jose Martinez, owner of Sartorial Inc. and President of the Downtown St. Pete Business Association, this development is great news to him.
"More opportunity, more revenue, and greater glory for each individual and the community," Martinez said.
Martinez attributes the improvement to the city's recent growth.
"When I talk to all the business owners, they all say the same thing. Business is improving. You still have to be mindful. You still have to watch your pennies and make sure that you're a responsible steward of your business. But there is a lot more opportunity today than yesterday," he added.
Faith in Florida said their fight continues with plans to address their wants at the city's budget meeting on Sept. 28.
